CLAIMA Facebook user who goes by the name
'Rajesh Singh Tomar' shared a video showing a man being thrashed by a mob, and the man being rescued and taken away by police, with a caption in Hindi that closely translates to, "
Kanhaiya Kumar getting 'azaadi'.
Deepika Padukone should certainly see this video."
The caption gives an impression that the man being beaten up by the mob is CPI(M) leader Kanhaiya Kumar who made headlines with 'azaadi' sloganeering at protests since the time he was a PhD student and students' union president at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).
When Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone visited JNU, standing in solidarity with students in the university post the violence unleashed in the campus by masked goons, Kumar was present there, leading the protest with 'azaadi' slogans.
Many other Facebook users shared the same video with more or less similar claim.
TRUTHThe man who could be seen being thrashed in the video is not Kanhaiya Kumar. In fact, the man who was beaten up by the mob is someone who hurled a 'chappal' at Kumar. The incident is from Bihar's
Lakhisarai.
VERIFICATION AND METHODOLOGYThe video that is being widely shared on Facebook has a watermark saying 'Kashish News' on it. Kashish News is a local channel in Bihar.
Noticing this, Times Fact Check got in touch with the channel and found that the video is of an incident from Bihar's Lakhisarai. The channel had posted this video on their Facebook page on Monday, February 17, 2020, with a caption in Hindi that translates to, "A youngster who hurled a 'chappal' was beaten up."
Since the video is of a better quality, the face of the man being thrashed is visible in this video, and it is clear that it's not Kumar.
Kumar was in Lakhisarai for an event -- 'Jan Gan Man Yatra' -- and during the event, a man hurled a footwear at him. The footwear didn't hit Kumar. Kumar's supporters got hold of the man and thrashed him before police rescued and took him away.
VERDICTTimes Fact Check has found that a video showing a mob thrashing a man is being shared with a false claim that the man being beaten up is CPI(M) leader Kanhaiya Kumar.